Ninja Gaiden on the Game Gear sounds like it could be cool, but this feels like a product thrown together on a whim. Ninja Gaiden in name only. Now, it's not a completely different game. Players can still expect to run and jump through enemy-filled stages, using Ryu Hayabusa's dragon sword or sub-weapons to take down whatever gets in his way. That's absolutely the extent of the similarities though. All you really have to look forward to is a couple of side-scrolling stages that vaguely resemble the NES trilogy. Stage 3 is a climbing section where unseen enemies drop flowerpots and fire extinguishers on your head. Finally, there's a gimmicky series of pillar jumps that are designed solely to eat up the clock, making the final boss more stressful than it has to be.
I suppose this game should get at least a few points for having workable controls, a decently sized hurtbox, and... actually that's all I've got. There's only so many ways I can describe how little meat is on these bones. All Sega did to stretch out the playtime was fix it so that bosses do comically large amounts of damage. The invulnerability period is also short, so a couple of seconds is enough time to go from full health to dead. Best of all, when Ryu dies, he's kicked back to the very beginning of the stage. Talk about miserable game-design.
Inevitably there comes a point in our lives where we feel obligated to play through every single game with ninjas. If this is you, then there's nothing that I can say that'll change your mind about playing through Ninja Gaiden on the Game Gear. Just don't expect much of anything beyond mild frustration.
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